• Stanford’s rushing defense in 2011 (84.4 yards per game) and 2012 (97.0) marked the two best single-season performances in program history. On the other side of the ball, Army has led the nation in rushing in each of the past two seasons and averaged a school-record 369.8 yards per game (4,438 total) in 2012.

• By winning last week against San Jose State, Stanford improved to 11-3 (.786) in its last 14 season openers while capturing six straight season debuts dating back to the 2008 campaign. Stanford improved to 21-1 (.955) all-time in season openers against San Jose State.

• With the win over San Jose State, David Shaw is now the first Stanford head coach to win a season-opening game in each of his first three years since Claude “Tiny” Thornhill did so from 1933-35.

• David Shaw is 1-1 (.500) in road openers. Stanford won his road debut at Duke in 2011, 44-14, before losing at Washington last season, 13-17.

• Stanford is 3-3 (.500) in games played in the Eastern Time Zone since 2008. The Cardinal twice played in the Eastern Time Zone during a recent three-game span (2011 Orange Bowl in Miami, second game of 2011 regular season at Duke).

• Stanford is 13-2 (.867) during the month of September dating back to 2009.

Last Matchup Against Army - Sept. 22, 1979• Four hundred and three yards of total offense and four drives to within the 10-yard line were not enough for Stanford, as the Cardinal was stopped short by a gritty Army team while suffering a 17-13 setback.

• The Cardinal scored first and last at Stanford Stadium in a game that saw its first three drives ended by turnovers.

• Trailing by three points in the third quarter, Stanford mounted three threatening drives and held Army without a first down, but never found the firepower to cross the goal line.

• The Cardinal opened the fourth quarter by halting a 75-yard Army march only to see the Cadets come back when Gerald Walker took a handoff and raced 71 yards for the winning touchdown.

Stanford-Army Connections• The matchup between Stanford and Army will feature 52 players from the state of California, including 30 Californians from Stanford and 22 from Army.

• Stanford junior WR Devon Cajuste (Seaford/Holy Cross) is the only Cardinal player to hail from New York, home to the U.S. Military Academy. Army has 14 players from the Empire State.

• Ellerson and Stanford special teams coordinator Pete Alamar coached together at Arizona from 1997-99. Army running backs coach Wayne Moses served in the same capacity at Stanford from 2002-03 and again in 2005.

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The Schedule• Stanford plays five teams that were ranked in the AP preseason top 25 (No. 4 Oregon, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 21 UCLA, No. 24 USC, No. 25 Oregon State). Two of those teams (USC, Oregon State) have dropped from the polls with the five schools combining for a 6-3 (.667) record. Washington has appeared in both polls since the opening week of play.

• Stanford’s 34-13 victory over San Jose State marks the last game currently scheduled for a series dubbed as the Bill Walsh Legacy Game.

The Polls• Stanford is ranked fourth in the USA Today Coaches’ poll and fifth in the AP top 25.

• Stanford lost six points in the AP poll (1,271 from 1,277) while gaining 35 points (1,327 from 1,292) in the USA Today Coaches’ poll. The Cardinal is ranked anywhere from second (four voters) to 12th nationally (two voters).

• Stanford has been ranked in the AP top 25 for a school-record 50 consecutive weeks. The streak is tied for the fifth longest in the nation, dating back to Sept. 5, 2010. Only Alabama (84), LSU (67), Oregon (63) and Oklahoma (51) can claim longer streaks while the Cardinal remain tied with South Carolina. Prior to the 2012 AP preseason poll, the Cardinal was ranked 23 consecutive weeks among its top 10.

• Stanford has been ranked in the preseason AP poll 17 times. The Cardinal appeared in 43 straight weekly polls from 1969-72.

• Stanford’s No. 4 preseason ranking by the AP is its highest preseason ranking in that poll. Stanford was fourth in the USA Today Coaches’ preseason poll and ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll by Sports Illustrated.

• After its 12-2 campaign in 2012, Stanford concluded the season ranked seventh by the AP and sixth in the USA Today Coaches’ poll, marking the third straight season the Cardinal finished inside the top 10 after being ranked No. 7/6 at the conclusion of 2011 and No. 4 at the conclusion of the 2010 season.

Cardinal Rising• Stanford has compiled a 44-10 (.815) record since 2009, finishing 8-5 in 2009, 12-1 in 2010, 11-2 in 2011 and 12-2 last season.

• Entering the 2013 season, Stanford was one of just four teams in the nation to win 35 or more games over the last three seasons, along with Oregon (36), Boise State (35) and Alabama (35). The Cardinal’s .875 winning percentage during that stretch was tied for third-best among FBS teams.

• The Cardinal has posted a 30-6 (.833) record in Pac-12 play over the last four seasons.

Takeaways• Stanford extended its nation-best streak of consecutive games with a takeaway to 25 with a fourth-quarter interception by FS Ed Reynolds.

In a Rush• Stanford outrushed San Jose State, 197-35, in the game and 92-18 in the first half.

• Stanford is 23-1 under head coach David Shaw when out-rushing an opponent, and 13-2 when the Cardinal produces a 100-yard rusher.

• The Cardinal was 10-0 in 2012 when out-rushing its opponent.

Bored• Senior P Ben Rhyne was not called on to punt against San Jose State. The Cardinal’s offensive drives all ended in scores with the exception of a missed field goal, a fumble and the end of the game.

Driving• Stanford scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the season by covering 67 yards on six plays before junior QB Kevin Hogan found junior WR Devon Cajuste on a 40-yard scoring strike.

• Stanford has scored on its opening drive in three straight seasons.

Third & Three• A trio of players made their first career receptions in the third quarter against San Jose State with senior WR Jeff Trojan, sophomore TE Luke Kaumatule and junior TE Charlie Hopkins all catching passes. Trojan and Kaumatule’s catches were on third down and went for first downs.

Cajuste-In-Time• Junior WR Devon Cajuste made his first career start at WR against San Jose State and logged his first touchdown reception on the opening drive, a 40-yarder.

Fiesta• Junior WR Ty Montgomery had a 17-yard touchdown in the third quarter against San Jose State, his first touchdown since the Fiesta Bowl following the 2011 season. He also had a 42-yard reception and finished with a game-high 81 receiving yards.

Chip Shots• Senior K Jordan Williamson tied a career-long with a 48-yard field goal in the season opener (matching a kick from Notre Dame in 2012). He was 2-of-3 from 40+ yards against San Jose State with a 40-yarder and a missed 52-yarder, which was wide left.

Get Gaff to Second• Senior RB Tyler Gaffney excelled on second down against San Jose State. Gaffney averaged 6.9 yards per carry with 48 yards on seven attempts and two touchdowns on second down. Included in the figure was a 9.5 yards-per-carry average on second-and-8/10 (four attempts for 38 yards).

Sack Race• Stanford’s defense came away with four sacks in the opener against San Jose State while not surrendering a sack on offense. Stanford has recorded at least one sack in 20 consecutive games and at least one tackle for loss in each of its last 36 outings.

Filling The Farm• The sellout crowd of 50,424 for the San Jose State game was the largest at Stanford Stadium since 2008, when Stanford drew 50,425 against USC.

Book Worms• Fifth-year senior OLB Trent Murphy and classmate ILB Shayne Skov are inching up the record books. With two sacks in the first half of last week’s game, Murphy enters play on Saturday chasing the No. 10 spot on Stanford’s all-time sacks list with 19.5 career sacks. Rob Hinckley (1986-89) is 10th with 20 career sacks.

• Both Murphy and Skov are also within reach of the top-10 in tackles for loss. Thomas Keiser (2008-10) holds down the 10-spot (31.5) with Murphy (31) and Skov (27) within striking distance.

• Junior KOR Ty Montgomery jumped into the top 10 listing for career kickoff return yards. His 39 career returns have yielded 1,009 yards, good for 10th all-time.

• Senior K Jordan Williamson’s 103 career extra points made ranks fifth all-time, with Nate Whitaker (2009-10) next on the chart with 114.